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Event
Information:
Spanish New Year's Eve (Nochevieja
or Fin de Año in Spanish, Cap d'Any
in Catalan, Cabo d'Anyo in Aragonese)
celebrations usually begin with a
family dinner, traditionally
including shrimp and lamb or capon.
Spanish tradition says that wearing
new, red underwear on New Year's Eve
brings good luck.
The actual
countdown is primarily followed from
the clock on top of the Casa de
Correos building in Puerta del Sol
square in Madrid. It is traditional
to eat twelve grapes, one on each
chime of the clock. This tradition
has its origins in 1909, when grape
growers in Alicante thought of it as
a way to cut down on the large
production surplus they had had that
year. Nowadays, the tradition is
followed by almost every Spaniard,
and the twelve grapes have become
synonymous with the New Year. After
the clock has finished striking
twelve, people greet each other and
toast with sparkling wine such as
cava or champagne, or alternatively
with cider.
After
the family dinner and the grapes,
many young people attend New Year
parties at pubs, discothèques and
similar places (these parties are
called cotillones de nochevieja,
after the Spanish word cotillón,
which refers to party supplies like
confetti, party blowers, party hats,
etc.). Parties usually last until
the next morning and range from
small, personal celebrations at
local bars to huge parties with
guests numbering the thousands at
hotel convention rooms. Early next
morning, party attendees usually
gather to have the traditional
winter breakfast of chocolate con
churros (xurros amb xocolata in
Catalan), hot chocolate and fried
pastry.
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